Ranji Trophy 2024: Sanju Samson Named Captain As Kerala Announce Squad For Tournament

India’s wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson was finally able to give a befitting answer to his critics as he slammed a century during the third IND vs SA ODI match. Samson played a knock of 108 runs off 114 balls in Paarl and was the architect of India’s 78-run win against the Proteas.

After Sanju Samson’s magnificent performance in the third ODI against South Africa, Samson has been handed over another gift as he will lead Kerala in the upcoming season of the Ranji Trophy. Rohan Kunnummal has been named as the vice-captain of the side whereas the squad marks the return of Vishnu Vinod.

Sanju Samson has played a total of 58 first-class matches wherein the right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman has scored 3446 runs at an average of 38.71. He has also hit 10 hundreds and 15 half-centuries. Apart from Samson, Shreyas Gopal, and Jalaj Saxena are the two experienced players in the Kerala side.

Kerala will be playing their first match of the Ranji Trophy against Uttar Pradesh in Alappuzha from January 5. Other than Uttar Pradesh, the Sanju Samson-led side will face Mumbai, Bengal, Andhra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Bihar in Elite Group B.

Sanju Samson-led Kerala squad for Ranji Trophy

Sanju Samson (c), Rohan Kunnummal (vc), Krishna Prasad, Anand Krishnan, Rohan Prem, Sachin Baby, Vishnu Vinod, Akshay Chandran, Shreyas Gopal, Jalaj Saxena, Vaishak Chandran, Basil Thampi, Vishweshwar A Suresh, M D Nidheesh, Basil N P, Vishnu Raj (wk).

Sanju Samson was the architect of India’s recovery during the third ODI match against South Africa. Samson did a match-winning fourth wicket partnership along with Tilak Varma and took the Indian team to a first-innings score of 296/8 at a challenging batting wicket. In return, South Africa were wrapped up for 218 runs and handed India a 78-run win, which led to their second ODI series win against the Proteas on the South African lands in the last five years.

Sanju Samson has been in the eyes of critics for many days as he was not able to access the chances that were given to him in the Indian cricket team. Samson got out for 12 runs in the second ODI match in Port Elizabeth.

Sanju Samson was part of the Indian cricket team during the 2023 Asia Cup as a reserved player, however, he was sent back once KL Rahul returned to the team. During the same period, Samson was also not picked for the 2023 Asian Games squad, which surprised a lot of cricket experts. Sanju Samson was also reported to have missed a county deal as he was part of the Indian team for the 2023 Asia Cup.

Apart from criticisms, there has also been a lobby that has kept on supporting Sanju Samson and targeted the Indian selector. Samson has been in and out of the Indian team and was also not picked for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

With Sanju Samson slamming his first international hundred, the right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman will want to continue his good performance and cement his place in the Indian side.